The 49ers are where the Raiders were three years ago – drastically undermanned, in the midst of unrelenting losing, and with Fort Knox-like money under the salary cap. Obviously, the 10-2 Raiders have made the right moves in hiring coach Jack Del Rio, drafting players like Derek Carr and Amari Cooper, and acquiring players like …

Among those who have been connected to the vacancy, McDaniels, Rex Ryan and Mike Shanahan are the only candidates with NFL head-coaching experience. McDaniels went 11-17 with the Broncos, who fired him after a 3-9 start in 2010. …

In his second full season as a starter, the dual-threat Kaepernick often struggled as a pocket passer. Former 49ers quarterback Steve Young has given Shanahan a large amount of credit for his transformation from a running quarterback into a polished pocket passer. Shanahan was the 49ers offensive coordinator from 1992-94 and put Young through endless hours of painstaking work in the film room. …

Broncos offensive coordinator Adam Gase, 36, will interview with the 49ers on Friday in Denver, a source said. Gase was an offensive assistant with the 49ers in 2008 and worked with offensive coordinator Mike Martz. He’s spent the past six seasons in Denver, where he was the wide receivers coach (2009-10) and quarterbacks coach (2011-12) before being promoted to coordinator last year. …

Here’s a final 2014 prediction that’s guaranteed to be correct: Offensive coordinator Greg Roman won’t be back with the 49ers in 2015. I know, I know: Really going out on a limb. There certainly isn’t a singular reason the 49ers parted ways with Jim Harbaugh, but there is evidence Harbaugh’s loyalty to his embattled assistant sealed the split. …

Niners CEO Jed York went on KNBR this morning and was interviewed, aggressively, by host Brian Murphy. Let’s get right to it: At this point, this is only a partial transcript. I will continue to update the 17-minute interview and it will eventually be here in its entirety. (The audio is here): …

Beckham just finished a jaw-dropping rookie season. In 12 games, he had 91 catches for 1,305 yards and 12 touchdowns. Before he had six catches for 93 yards in his sixth career game against the 49ers in November, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio was already terming Beckham a “great receiver.” …

Jed York knows fans are furious Jim Harbaugh is no longer the 49ers coach after he led a moribund franchise back to respectability and beyond in his four seasons. The CEO has just had to check one of his social-media accounts to get a sense of the outrage. …

As part of his plan to get Justin Smith back with the 49ers in 2015, linebacker Patrick Willis said he’ll speak with the 35-year-old All-Pro defensive lineman and, also, Smith’s three young sons. “I’m going to see if I can talk to them and see if they can run him a little ragged,” Willis said, smiling. “We’re going to see.” …

On Sunday, Jim Harbaugh declined to say which of his assistant coaches could be following him to the University of Michigan, but here’s one coach who won’t be making the tip to Ann Arbor: Vic Fangio. The 49ers defensive coordinator, who spent 2010 with Harbaugh at Stanford, won’t remain with Harbaugh in 2015, a source said. …

The last big play of the Jim Harbaugh era turned into a fitting gift for the pigskin-obsessed head coach: a football. After Craig Dahl sealed the 49ers’ 20-17 win over the Cardinals with a late-game interception in their regular-season finale Sunday afternoon, the safety ran over to his head coach on the sideline and offered him the prize, along with a few heartfelt words. …